Chapter Ninety-Six: The Deep Foundations of Great Qian

Chapter Ninety-Six

This was something no one knew, just as no one had known of the Innate Realm before the Old Poison Master appeared.

There was, in truth, another thing people still did not understand: only those who were wicked to an extreme degree would attract the heavenly thunder tribulation at the Innate Realm. Ordinary people of the martial world, once their cultivation reached that level, would be quietly taken away by experts and led into a special world.

The Old Poison Master had once, in a fit of rage to save a friend, poisoned more than ten thousand enemies to death in a single stroke. Moreover, many people of the martial world used poisons, and the majority of those poisons had been refined by him.

So when his cultivation reached the Innate Realm and he drew down a thunder tribulation, it was only natural. And because he survived it before the eyes of countless witnesses, the world finally learned of the Innate Realm’s existence. Ordinary martial artists, even if they had killed hundreds or thousands, would still be silently led away by experts once they reached that level.

Thus, in the martial world, there had long only been legends of the Innate Realm; no one had ever personally witnessed another’s ascent to it.

Just as the two men were each lost in thought in the spacious empty hall, a young eunuch hurried up in some urgency. He glanced at King of Hell Ma, seeming somewhat wary.

Yang Wei smiled and said, “Eunuch Li, speak freely. Old Ma is no outsider.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The eunuch bowed all the way to the floor three times before continuing. “Your Majesty, outside the southern city gate of Bianjing, traces of Wu Hong have been discovered...”

Before he had even finished speaking, King of Hell Ma sprang up, his face full of disbelief. “What? Wu Hong is not dead?”

Eunuch Li glanced at him, a flash of contempt in his eyes. Yet he clearly did not dare show any displeasure before Emperor Yang Wei, and still answered King of Hell Ma’s question. “Indeed, he did not die. And outside the southern city gate, he is sitting cross-legged in broad daylight, entering meditation and cultivating.”

At that, King of Hell Ma’s expression changed drastically. He said furiously, “That Wu Hong is far too arrogant! Even after not being swallowed by the Ten Thousand Demons Ghost Banner, he dares to cultivate so openly?”

Emperor Yang Wei’s face, too, was dark. This act was a blatant contempt for the experts of the martial world.

“Could it be that no one took the chance to teach Wu Hong a lesson while he was in meditation?”

Yang Wei’s voice carried a trace of anger. Eunuch Li knew it was not directed at him. “Yes. At first, I could not believe it either, so I went in person to see for myself. The result left even me greatly shaken.”

“What happened? Speak plainly, you old woman!” King of Hell Ma, listening with growing impatience, was infuriated when Eunuch Li froze halfway through, his face full of shock. If they were not in the imperial palace, with his temper he would likely have killed the eunuch on the spot.

Hearing Ma insult him like that, Eunuch Li instantly flushed with anger. Though he was a castrated man, his martial cultivation was formidable. He had once served as grand steward eunuch under the former emperor and now still held the position of chief eunuch.

“Hmph. You, a defeated hand of Wu Hong with no rank and no standing, dare be so insolent in the imperial palace? Who gave you the courage—”

Eunuch Li suddenly barked out.

“Good. Good. Good!” King of Hell Ma said with a cold smile. “Yang Wei brat, I have not walked the martial world for long, and now even a dog like you dares not take me seriously. This is his own doing. Do not blame me for being ruthless.”

When he heard the eunuch before him actually shout at him, he laughed icily.

Eunuch Li looked at Emperor Yang Wei and saw anger in his face as well. He knew that Yang Wei had truly been angered by King of Hell Ma’s rudeness too.

With a swish, Eunuch Li drew his weapon, the Judge’s Brush. The iron brush was a full three feet long, and its bristles were made of the rare, steel-like hair of a fierce beast.

Seeing Eunuch Li draw the Judge’s Brush, King of Hell Ma was equally unceremonious. He yanked out the ghost-headed broadsword that had always accompanied him. This blade had slain countless men.

Two figures flashed through the air like lightning. One was blood red, the unique killing aura of King of Hell Ma. The other was pitch black, a kind of true qi so dark it made the skin crawl. Both currents of qi were of yin nature.

The two figures struck once in midair, yet no earthshaking sound erupted. The entire power of the palace hall suddenly rippled, suppressing the violence of their true qi.

After exchanging a single blow, they each withdrew more than thirty feet and stared at one another.

King of Hell Ma’s expression changed several times.

Although they had only exchanged a brief blow, neither had gained the upper hand. Ma immediately felt somewhat embarrassed.

“Impudent, Eunuch Li! Old Ma is my friend. How can you be so rude?” Yang Wei’s voice suddenly rang out through the hall.

Eunuch Li dropped instantly to his knees, wearing an expression of utter panic, and kowtowed again and again. “Your Majesty, this servant knows his error. Spare my life!”

He looked frightened and remorseful to the extreme.

“Your Majesty! The Great Qian Dynasty truly lives up to its name as one of the great powers of the Tianxing Continent. Indeed, it is full of experts and men of great ability. This old man is impressed! Your Majesty, I was merely exchanging pointers with him. Please do not punish him.”

No matter how arrogant King of Hell Ma might be, he knew this was Yang Wei giving him a way down from the steps. If he did not seize it, the one who would end up looking foolish would likely be himself.

Emperor Yang Wei said with a stern face, “Hmph. Since Old Ma has pleaded for you, I shall spare you for now. Continue. If Old Ma has any questions, answer them properly.”

Though his tone was cold, there was not a trace of real anger in his eyes. It was clear he was very pleased with Eunuch Li’s performance just now.

“Many thanks, Your Majesty, for sparing this old servant. I only beg that Old Ma not hold a petty grudge. This incomplete body has always been the greatest regret of my life. If I have offended you, please forgive me.”

King of Hell Ma’s tone was no longer as arrogant as before. Toward someone who had not suffered at his hands, he treated him as an equal. At the same time, he was inwardly alarmed. It seemed the intelligence from my organization’s information network is still not sharp enough. There are truly experts everywhere in this Great Qian imperial palace, yet there is not a single record of them.

Eunuch Li gave King of Hell Ma a respectful bow, then continued, “When this old servant arrived at the scene, my jaw nearly dropped. It was not only Wu Hong meditating and cultivating. Around him, there were a full thousand martial experts seated cross-legged, each with solemn expressions, all in meditation and cultivation!”

“What? Such a strange thing?” Yang Wei and King of Hell Ma exclaimed at the same time.

“Yes. This old servant did not know the reason, so I asked a friend, and only then did I learn that Wu Hong was practicing some unknown martial art. That sky-filling true qi of golden light, once it touches a person of the martial world, causes that person to immediately enter meditation and cultivate! I have truly never seen or even heard of such a thing in my life.”

After Eunuch Li finished speaking, his face was full of wonder. If he had not seen it with his own eyes, and only heard others speak of it, he would have merely laughed and cursed it as nonsense.

But because he had witnessed it personally, he could not help but believe it.

After hearing Eunuch Li’s words, Yang Wei and King of Hell Ma both fell silent.

“Do not worry about Wu Hong for now. Tighten security in the palace! Dispatch experts to lie in ambush in secret!” Yang Wei said after a long while.

For unknown things, Yang Wei did not dare to be careless. His thought was simple: Wu Hong could cultivate so openly outside the southern city gate, utterly unconcerned with safety, and even had thousands following him in cultivation. That was clearly no good omen.

Yang Wei circulated his dark cloud true qi, and black energy wound around his body. Not long after, the entire palace hall shook.

King of Hell Ma was startled. Just now, he had felt an incomparably powerful force envelop the whole hall. He knew Yang Wei had activated the hall’s array formation through some secret art.

That surge of power carried with it a compelling sense of submission. King of Hell Ma felt a chill in his heart. What exactly was the depth of the Great Qian Dynasty?

He had traveled among the surrounding great nations, yet none possessed a foundation as profound as the Great Qian Dynasty. Great Qian had only been founded for a few decades; how could it possess such tremendous strength? What were they truly plotting? What scheme lay behind it?

A storm surged in King of Hell Ma’s heart. He had originally thought Yang Wei was merely a monarch with nothing remarkable about him. But at this moment, Ma recalled many things, especially the siege of Wu Hong at Blackwood Cliff.

When Crown Prince Yang Wei led more than ten thousand Feathered Forest Guards, every single one of them was at the Marrow-Refining stage. Such power was simply impossible for a nation that had only recently been established.

The more King of Hell Ma thought about it, the more he felt the Great Qian Dynasty harbored hidden ambitions. Cold sweat had already soaked through his clothes.